The yellow and blue-marked police car stood as an obvious reminder in front of the Institute that all was not well. When I’d come on Tuesday, it had been with optimism. On Tuesday night, trepidation. Now on Thursday, it was with resignation that I pulled my car into one of the Visitor parking spots.
The patrolman on duty let me into the empty reception area. I didn’t wait long before Lonna appeared behind the window.
“The officer told me you were here,” she said. “I’ll buzz you through.”
She led me through the hallways and up the stairs to Max’s office. She unlocked the door, and when we entered, I couldn’t help but notice the office resembled that of most physicians, but as I would have expected from Max, the medical textbooks, other references, and papers stood in precision arrangement.
The only messy spot was on the desk, where it looked like Lonna had been sorting through papers. “Garou’s men are still processing mine, and since Max is still at home recovering, here I am. Coffee?”
“No, thanks.” My interview with Garou had left me sufficiently wound up. We sat, her behind her desk and me in front of it. “How is Max?”
“He’s doing well. His friend gave him some interesting instructions as to how he should get well, and I’m…” She blushed, an unusual expression for her.
“You must be exhausted,” I said with as straight a face as I could muster. “If only medical doctors prescribed that sort of thing.”
“I’m definitely worn out.” She bit her lip over her smile and looked around. “Not that I should be discussing this with a proper Scottish gentleman in my husband’s office.”
I waved away her concern. “I was there when Reine told him, so don’t worry about it. Since when do you become nervous about what we talk about? You know you can tell me anything.”
“Can I?” Her perfectly arched brows drew together. “Things have changed, Gabriel. What started out as an interesting project and the professional challenge I’ve been craving has turned into a nightmare, and my husband, the only man I’ve ever truly loved, is at risk. I try not to be irrational, but you’re the one behind us being here and the Institute in general.”
“I’m trying to fix it for you, Lonna.” I had the image of sitting in front of her with hat in hand—there was that damn imaginary hat again—asking for forgiveness.
“I’m afraid there is no fixing it.” She toyed with a pen on the desk, and a tear splashed on the back of her hand. “Three men are dead, another—Max—is injured, and I don’t know what poor Selene is going through. I thought she and Otis had some sort of relationship, but now I’m not sure.”
I shifted in my seat. Her resigned expression reminded me of the one my mother wore in the weeks after we’d been informed of my father’s death. “Then let’s start there. If I can’t fix this for you, at the very least I have to solve it. Not just for you, but for everyone involved.”
She wiped the tears from her eyes. “What do you want to know?”
“Before I continue, I need to warn you that some of this may be shared with Detective Garou, but I promise to be discreet.”
“I understand. Do what you have to do. I trust you to balance the secrets necessary for the function of the Institute with the information needed to solve Otis’s murder.”
“Very well. Tell me about the relationship between him and Selene. Actually, tell me about them in general, and then their relationship.”
Lonna leaned back and folded her hands. One index finger moved as she thought. “They were both recruits from Joanie and Iain. Otis was from New York and had impeccable recommendations. He’d worked with Joanie as a graduate student and then did a summer internship with Iain, helping him with the evidence for the Cabal-Hippocrates case, so Iain felt he would be a good fit on the team, particularly since he had an understanding of Chronic Lycanthropy Syndrome from both the inherited perspective and from that of those who were infected.”
I took out my notebook and jotted down some information. “So he could have made enemies while he worked with Iain on the case. As I recall, those Cabal-Hippocrates blokes were not to be messed with lightly.”
She met my eyes, and I saw the shared memory of being captured and forced through chemical means to change. The echo of those screams lurked at the edges of my dreams, and sometimes I woke from a nightmare of being back there, captive and helpless as I was experimented on. It had happened just after Lonna had changed for the first time, so for her, the memories had been locked away until an incident forced her to remember. I’d never lost them but wished I had.
She shook her head as though to dislodge the recollections and continued, “If Otis did have enemies, Iain didn’t mention them. Maybe he didn’t know about them.”
“He has some family, though. Was he close to them?”
“It’s hard to tell. He didn’t talk about them much, but a lot of guys don’t. I had the impression he’d lived with them while still in the States.”
“I’ll ask if he’d ever received threats that they knew of. They’ve been informed, correct?”
“Yes.” Lonna looked at her hands. “I can’t imagine the horror of finding out your child has been murdered. Iain told them since he’d met them.”
“He has his good moments,” I said.
“Yes, he has a few.”
“And Selene?” I asked before she pursued the Iain line of discussion.
“She’s from Georgia. You probably picked up on the Southern accent, although it’s faint. She was a CLS recessive until she got the viral vector in a tainted flu vaccine. She was already a psychologist and wanted to use her experience to help others adjust to the major life change that comes with CLS.”
It had been a part of my life since early adolescence, so I always had to remind myself what an effect becoming a lycanthrope would have on an established adult existence. “And then help them adjust to not having it anymore?”
“In her interview, she likened it to gastric bypass surgery. People may recognize that letting go of this aspect of themselves would work better for them, but it comes with consequences that may be difficult to adjust to. You and I both know it’s a blessing and a curse.”
I nodded. “And she has a brother?”
“Yes, and a mother and stepfather. She never said anything about her biological father, but I got the impression he’s been out of the picture since she and her brother were children.”
“What of the relationship between her and LeConte?”
Lonna bit her lip. “They spent a lot of time together, but I don’t know if that’s because the four of us were the core team here, and Max and I naturally paired off due to our relationship. They were both Americans in a foreign country, so it made sense. They seemed to enjoy each other’s company.”
“Did you observe any kind of behavior to indicate that they were more than friendly colleagues?”
“Maybe that they were friends, but that’s it. I had a talk with Selene about it just in case, and she denied anything inappropriate.”
Lonna’s words were consistent with what Selene had told me, but I still felt like I missed something.
“Does Selene have any other friends or acquaintances here that you know of?”
“No, but I try not to be too involved in my employees’ personal lives. They aren’t allowed to have visitors here at the Institute for confidentiality and security reasons, so I wouldn’t know of her social circle. She’s an attractive young woman, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s made friends since being here.”
With friends like hers… “And how long have she and Otis been here?”
“For a few months.” Lonna shook her head. “If I’d known what would happen…”
I covered her hand with mine. “You couldn’t have. None of us could.”
I sat back just before someone knocked on the door.
“Lonna?” Selene asked. Her eyes widened when she saw me. “Oh, so that’s your car out front. I thought I recognized it from the other day. Did y
ou bring her?”
“Who?” asked Lonna.
“Someone who calls herself Reyna but won’t give a last name. She says it’s about something Max asked her to do.” Her next words made my heart drop. “And Lady Morena is here to see you, Lonna.”
11
Don’t talk to her without insisting I be present,” I said to Lonna. “Damn, her timing couldn’t be worse.”
“Whose timing, Gabriel?” Morena barged into the office, which suddenly felt like it was half as large. “Thank you, girl,” she said to Selene, who stepped back.
“That is Doctor Rial,” I said through clenched teeth. “She’s a valuable member of the team here.”
“Oh.” Morena looked her up and down. “Oh! You’re Selene Rial. I can see why Gabriel is so taken with you. I could never understand why he was attracted to scientist types. What he needs is a little wife to cook and clean for him, not look through microscopes and work later than he does.”
Selene’s startled gaze met mine at the same time the heat slammed into my cheeks. “You’re speaking without having all the information, Morena, which you always caution those of us on the Council not to do.”
“Your schoolboy blush says you doth protest too much.” She turned to Selene. “He’s right, though. Our Gabriel is a smart one, isn’t he? Don’t let him get away if you’re interested—most women don’t hold his attention long. Okay, you may go. Shoo, shoo.”
With one more bemused glance at me, Selene shoo’ed and closed the door after her. Lonna bit her lip, her topaz eyes bright with suppressed laughter, but I didn’t find the situation funny. I glowered at my Council head, rank and hierarchy be damned.
“All right, Morena. I’ve known you a long time. What’s with the friendly ‘our Gabriel’ act?”
Her features snapped back into their typical severe expression, and Lonna narrowed her eyes.
“Yes, Lady Morena, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”
Now Morena did something outside of her usual behavioral repertoire—she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m here to personally see how the investigation is progressing. The Council has some doubt that you have the situation under control, Gabriel.”
“The Council or two of its members?”
“Make your best guess.”
Here was that game again. “Dimitri and Cora?” I asked. “Not that it matters much who it is. Tell them I can’t make Garou process the evidence faster, but we do have a couple of leads.”
“Yes, yes, I know the Young Bloods and Purists have come forward to claim the murders, but do you think they’re responsible?”
I wondered at her strategy—why were we having this conversation in front of Lonna, and what was the true reason for her being here? I chose my words carefully. “I won’t know until I talk to them. I have another lead, but I’m still pursuing it,” I said, thinking of Selene’s “friend” at the pub. The way Selene had talked, he had been at the murder scene. Although I didn’t think he’d done it—if he was a killer, he would have finished me off behind the West Port Inn—I knew he must have seen something. The problem was getting to him without spooking Selene or putting her in danger. Maybe Morena’s kidding would cause her to let down her guard with me.
“Care to share with the class?” Morena asked. Lonna coughed, probably to hide a laugh.
“It’s delicate.”
Morena turned to Lonna. “Well, Mrs. Marconi-Fortuna, give me a tour so I can tell the others I’ve checked things out thoroughly.”
“There’s not much to see, unfortunately,” Lonna said. “It’s a typical medical facility with offices, patient rooms, labs, and equipment.”
“What about the applications for the first batch of test subjects?” I asked.
Lonna raised her eyebrows at me, and I guessed there was something she needed to tell me, but which Morena didn’t need to know. “We’re still processing them. There’s a lot of information in each of them. Besides, it’s confidential medical information.”
“Please,” Morena scoffed, her tone sarcastic, not pleading. “Remember, this is a special case, and you’re outside the normal rules and jurisdiction for protection of health information. I’d like to see them.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“That’s proprietary information.”
“No, the proprietary information is what you’re going to do to cure people of their lycanthropy. The subjects are not.”
Lonna fidgeted with the pen again and looked at me imploringly. I understood how she felt—Morena always denied having wizard ancestry, but she was able to put incredible emotional pressure on the people she interrogated.
I decided to intervene. “Let’s allow them some more time to process the charts, and then they can prepare a report.” Because nothing entices a bureaucrat like the promise of a report.
“Very well, then, you may now show me around Mrs. Marconi-Fortuna.”
“If you would give me a moment with Gabriel,” Lonna said. “We need to finish our meeting. I’m sure Selene will be happy to show you around.”
I had to admire Lonna for standing up to Morena.
“There’s something you need to know about the application files,” Lonna said after she’d called Selene to come collect Morena and the two of them had left for their tour.
“Is this office warded?” I asked. “We can hear through walls to a certain distance.”
“Oh? I wasn’t aware of that. Is that only those of you who are born with CLS or all of us?”
“Apparently the development of our abilities isn’t as straightforward as I’d thought. We’re dealing with a strange mix of science and legend, and I’m still sorting out what’s what.”
She nodded. “I’d appreciate any information you can give me. If there are different stages to lycanthrope development beyond the initial change and adjustment, it could impact our process.”
I hadn’t thought of that, but I also doubted any vaccine lycanthropes would be at a stage of development where it would be a problem, all of them having been changed in the last two years or so.
“Right. About those applications.”
Lonna bit her lip. “I can show you most of them, but one’s missing.”
“They’re supposed to be electronic.”
“I’m aware of that. We got them, and I printed them all out, but the sixth was stolen from my office on Tuesday night.”
“And the original uploaded copies?”
“I’m getting to that. When I went to download it again, it was corrupted. Iain is working on it from his end, as are we, but…” She turned her hands palm-up.
“I see. And there was no scent to suggest who might have been here, killed the security guards, and stolen the file.”
“None.”
“That suggests someone different from whoever killed LeConte. By the way, may I see his office? Is Garou finished with it?”
“No, he said to leave it alone until they’ve processed the evidence in case they need to follow up on anything or gather more.”
“That’s fine, I’ll—oh no.”
“What?”
I’d just remembered my initial encounter with Selene that morning. “Reine is here to do something Max asked her to do. I bet it has something to do with the blood. I need to find her.” I stood. “Do you know where the security guards were killed? She’ll either be there or in LeConte’s office.”
“They were killed downstairs in the blood storage lab before being moved to the CT room.” She shuddered. “Somehow all the vials exploded. It looked like something out of a horror movie.”
“Whose blood have you gathered?”
“It was a project of Otis’s. He asked for us and other lycanthropes to volunteer samples for genetic analysis. He’d even contacted the Council, but I don’t know if any of them came through.”
I vaguely remembered something about the request, but I was away on assignment in France at the time. “Wa
s any of yours down there?”
The look she gave me called me stupid and some other things lost in translation, but I got the gist. “No, I don’t give my blood to anyone, not after what happened at the wizard compound.”
I nodded. “I don’t blame you, although there shouldn’t be anyone practicing blood magic beyond what’s happening here.”
“As far as we know.”
“I need a list of the people he collected samples from.”
“The paper copy was in his office, and Garou has his laptop. We haven’t been able to determine what’s missing from his files since we can’t get in there.”
The situation got worse with every piece of information, but I could only handle one thing at a time. “I can’t do anything about that right now, but I need to get to Reine before she corrupts any possible evidence. I’ll check LeConte’s office, and you go to the lab. Call my mobile if you find her, and I’ll do the same.”
“Okay, but it might take a minute for me to get down there, see if she’s in the lab, and get back up to the first floor. There’s no signal down in the vault.”
I hoped Selene had the good sense to steer Morena away from the crime scenes during their tour. Knowing that some Council members had donated blood for genetic research added a new level of pressure and scrutiny for me to figure out who was behind all this, and if there was more than one culprit. What Lonna had told me about the lab chilled me in particular—it sounded like there was magic involved, which meant a wizard. When wizards went rogue, bad things happened, as Lonna had experienced, and blood could be used to control.
LeConte’s office was locked up tight, and I couldn’t smell anyone in there, even beyond the overpowering stench of clotted and dried blood. I told my stomach to stop turning, although it wasn’t surprising since I had an inner predator, not an inner scavenger. I’d heard tales of were-hyenas but never had the desire to meet one.
Not here, I texted Lonna and headed toward the stairs.
Lycanthropy Files Box Set: Books 1-3 Plus Novella Page 63
